Haas refuses to use Ferrari's upgraded engine for now

Ferrari is introducing an improved engine at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, adjusted after the ADUO system, among other factors, worked to the Scuderia’s advantage. Within a few weeks of the FIA informing the teams that, among others, Ferrari is allowed to add an upgrade to the internal combustion engine, the Italians have indeed done so.

It has been stipulated that once Ferrari has a new engine, all its customer teams must also have access to it. Indeed, Haas and Cadillac have received updated power units from Ferrari, but at least Haas is not using them. Ayao Komatsu, the team principal of the American squad, will not disclose why Haas is opting against using it.

For customer teams, a new supplier engine can necessitate chassis adjustments to ensure the power unit fits the car. Reportedly, that is not the reason for Haas to forgo the Ferrari engine right now. Komatsu will not say when the new engine will be put into use.

Formula 1, in any case, is very curious to see how strong Ferrari’s engine is going to be. Lando Norris, for example, said a few weeks ago that if the Italians had a strong engine, they would beat everyone. With that, he paid a big compliment to the chassis of Charles Leclerc’s and Lewis Hamilton’s cars.

Ferrari itself also felt the power unit needed improvement. The FIA’s decision to allow an upgrade under the ADUO framework was therefore greeted with enthusiasm. In combination with the strong chassis, Ferrari hopes to further press its attack on Mercedes.